What do you think?
The Gourmet Jewish Cookbook
A new cook book from the biggest name in Jewish cuisine, published to coincide with the Jewish New Year on September 17th.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 10, 2012
First off, this reviewer is a Gentile. So this review is not coloured by any special prior knowledge or specific understanding of Jewish cultural matters. That said, this book is made more exciting and interesting because of it.
Here the author has compiled a large collection of gourmet Jewish recipes, taken from all around the world. The author contends that Jewish cookery is arguably the first example of fusion cookery, due to Jews mixing local food and cooking customs in the countries that they have lived in and travelled through over time. Maybe there is some merit in the claim.
Whilst the book is clearly aimed at Jews, there is no reason why Gentiles cannot join in the culinary fun. An all-too-brief overview is given to the three different types of Kosher foods and how they impact on Jewish cookery. If you are a Gentile, however, one suspects that you can get away with non-Kosher ingredients on the whole. The book is split into several large chapters: In the Beginning (starters, breads & soups); Fresh & Crunchy (salads); Eat Out, Eat In (fine dining & quick fixes); Modern Classics; Free From (veggie, diabetic & gluten); And Finally Something Sweet (various deserts) and Festivals. Each chapter features a brief introduction and gives a little bit of spiel before going straight into the recipes.
Here the recipes are relatively well laid out, splitting the ingredients and the instructions into distinct columns. The instructions tend to mix up factual and general information at the same time and in various recipes additional hints and tips are (randomly?) placed in the same area. A bit of a blurred, mismatch at times, but nothing overly annoying. The range and depth of recipes was interesting and this book can really show Gentiles that Jewish food is not necessarily so different to that which they may already know and love. Specific religious requirements aside, it is here one can begin to see and appreciate the fusion-esque qualities that Jewish food can have. Yet many of the recipes are not those one might have thought to be specially Jewish. Such as Chocolate Brownies. So is there really a need for this book?
There are a few colour photographs bound into the middle. Hardly a suitable solution for a premium-priced book in 2012. For what they are they needn't have bothered. Yet individual pictures next to each recipe could have been appreciated by the reader.
Probably the largest annoyance, with a small 'a' is the paper used in this book. It just feels cheap like a poor-quality telephone directory from the 1980s and this is totally at odds with the book's styling and fairly high price tag. The fonts used and the weight of typography tend to make this book not so compatible with poor, tired eyes and you tend to find the lightweight text impressions sink into the cheap, absorbent paper.
It is unfortunate that the book's price tag, when considered with the overall "look and feel" mean that it is less likely to be an impulse buy. Whether it is sufficiently unique to attract Jewish buyers (or inquisitive Gentiles) remains to be seen which is a shame. At a third of the price the "look and feel" could be possibly understood, but this is "just" a cheap paperback book with a hardback cover. No matter how positive one tries to spin it, it just doesn't feel right, so to amend slightly the well-known English phrase, the ship was spoiled for a ha'pworth of tar (poor production elements). This is a shame.
The Gourmet Jewish Cookbook, written by Denise Phillips and published by The Robson Press. ISBN 9781849542005, 250 pages. Typical price: GBP25. YYY.
// This review appeared in YUM.fi and is reproduced here in full with permission of YUM.fi. YUM.fi celebrates the worldwide diversity of food and drink, as presented through the humble book. Whether you call it a cookery book, cook book, recipe book or something else (in the language of your choice) YUM will provide you with news and reviews of the latest books on the marketplace. //
Here the author has compiled a large collection of gourmet Jewish recipes, taken from all around the world. The author contends that Jewish cookery is arguably the first example of fusion cookery, due to Jews mixing local food and cooking customs in the countries that they have lived in and travelled through over time. Maybe there is some merit in the claim.
Whilst the book is clearly aimed at Jews, there is no reason why Gentiles cannot join in the culinary fun. An all-too-brief overview is given to the three different types of Kosher foods and how they impact on Jewish cookery. If you are a Gentile, however, one suspects that you can get away with non-Kosher ingredients on the whole. The book is split into several large chapters: In the Beginning (starters, breads & soups); Fresh & Crunchy (salads); Eat Out, Eat In (fine dining & quick fixes); Modern Classics; Free From (veggie, diabetic & gluten); And Finally Something Sweet (various deserts) and Festivals. Each chapter features a brief introduction and gives a little bit of spiel before going straight into the recipes.
Here the recipes are relatively well laid out, splitting the ingredients and the instructions into distinct columns. The instructions tend to mix up factual and general information at the same time and in various recipes additional hints and tips are (randomly?) placed in the same area. A bit of a blurred, mismatch at times, but nothing overly annoying. The range and depth of recipes was interesting and this book can really show Gentiles that Jewish food is not necessarily so different to that which they may already know and love. Specific religious requirements aside, it is here one can begin to see and appreciate the fusion-esque qualities that Jewish food can have. Yet many of the recipes are not those one might have thought to be specially Jewish. Such as Chocolate Brownies. So is there really a need for this book?
There are a few colour photographs bound into the middle. Hardly a suitable solution for a premium-priced book in 2012. For what they are they needn't have bothered. Yet individual pictures next to each recipe could have been appreciated by the reader.
Probably the largest annoyance, with a small 'a' is the paper used in this book. It just feels cheap like a poor-quality telephone directory from the 1980s and this is totally at odds with the book's styling and fairly high price tag. The fonts used and the weight of typography tend to make this book not so compatible with poor, tired eyes and you tend to find the lightweight text impressions sink into the cheap, absorbent paper.
It is unfortunate that the book's price tag, when considered with the overall "look and feel" mean that it is less likely to be an impulse buy. Whether it is sufficiently unique to attract Jewish buyers (or inquisitive Gentiles) remains to be seen which is a shame. At a third of the price the "look and feel" could be possibly understood, but this is "just" a cheap paperback book with a hardback cover. No matter how positive one tries to spin it, it just doesn't feel right, so to amend slightly the well-known English phrase, the ship was spoiled for a ha'pworth of tar (poor production elements). This is a shame.
The Gourmet Jewish Cookbook, written by Denise Phillips and published by The Robson Press. ISBN 9781849542005, 250 pages. Typical price: GBP25. YYY.
// This review appeared in YUM.fi and is reproduced here in full with permission of YUM.fi. YUM.fi celebrates the worldwide diversity of food and drink, as presented through the humble book. Whether you call it a cookery book, cook book, recipe book or something else (in the language of your choice) YUM will provide you with news and reviews of the latest books on the marketplace. //
January 12, 2015
It has some interesting recipes.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews